People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

Chapter 86 The Price of Fame (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The next morning, the Brooklyn sun shone brightly, showing no sign of hesitation despite the late-night conflict.

Before leaving for school, Li Wei quietly stuffed the slightly deformed iron rod into the bottom of the non-recyclable waste bin.

Looking back, he ultimately decided against driving to school and opted for public transportation instead.

He arrived at Coach Miller's office before the first class started to pick up his invitation and then had to ask what he needed to do next.

"Wow," Li Wei exclaimed, tearing open the envelope and pulling out the invitation with the gold logo. "This is the invitation to the All-Star Bowl?"

"Yes," Coach Miller coughed, "Well... Yale has already informed the school. Congratulations on receiving your offer from Yale University ahead of schedule."

"Thank you," Li Wei said, flipping through the invitation and location in his hand. "After receiving the invitation, is there anything else I need to do?"

""

"Fuck, you haven't been paying attention to this at all, have you?" Coach Miller rolled his eyes, leaned back heavily in his chair, and pointed his thick finger at Levi. "You have a lot to do."

He pointed to a stack of documents under the invitation envelope (Li Wei initially thought it was a thick textbook) and said, "First, sign off on this pile of insurance waivers and portrait rights authorization forms, then..."

"A portrait rights authorization form?" Levi asked warily. "Could it be the same as that White agent from last time?"

"What? Oh, no," Coach Miller paused for a moment, then shook his head. "This is just a temporary licensing agreement. The scope of the license is only that you allow the game and broadcasting media to put your headshot on their promotional materials. It does not include any commercial licenses."

"Very good," Li Wei sat down and began to look at the documents one by one. "My image rights are quite expensive, and I don't plan to sell them anytime soon."

"You did the right thing. I was held back by Principal Herman last time," Coach Miller said, still fuming about it. "Otherwise, I would have shoved my shoe right into White's ass on the spot."

Li Wei didn't reply. He carefully read through all the terms and contracts, avoiding any potential risks, before signing his name on each one.

"Very good," Miller said, bringing the documents together. "Then cherish your remaining high school years, because you have an interview this afternoon."

Li Wei frowned: "Can I refuse?"

"Unfortunately, you can't this time," Miller shrugged, "because the All-Star Bowl rules state that participating players are obligated to grant interview requests from the media they work with."

Li Wei rubbed his temples. He had been in the eye of the storm recently. Although most ordinary people didn't care what was going on, in the world of football, whether the Giants could push for the implementation of a special clause for him was a hot topic.

John Mara suddenly popped into his mind; that old guy must know that participating in the All-Star Bowl required publicity.

"Okay," Levi said, "I'll participate. Anything else?"

Miller flipped through his schedule, clearly having done his homework, and his tone even carried a hint of schadenfreude.

"I've never had any students who reached your level before, and I don't know much about them," he said as he flipped through the pages. "But for you, I made a special call to the organizing committee in San Antonio last night."

"You'll be extremely busy for the next two weeks," he said, "interviews, photoshoots, medical checkups, data collection, equipment customization, and so on."

"Enjoy the pleasure of fame," a hint of relief and envy flashed in his hazy eyes, "This may be the last period of peace you have."

Li Wei eventually went to class for a while because he had to do an interview at the school's gymnasium in the afternoon, and with only a few hours in between, it wasn't appropriate to go anywhere else.

When the first class ended, Michael, who hadn't chatted for a long time, actually came over to talk to someone.

"Hey buddy," he gave Levi a high five, "congratulations on winning the PSAL championship."

"Thank you," Li Wei nodded politely. "How have you been lately?"

"Oh man," Michael said with a wry smile, rubbing his cheek, "I haven't been doing too well lately."

"By the way," he said, "thank you and your uncle for not raising the rent for us. My mother and I are very grateful to you."

""

"Where's your brother?" Li Wei asked jokingly. "Isn't he going to thank me?"

Michael continued rubbing his face. "Oh shit, he feels his dignity has been insulted... but I want to convey his gratitude to you and your uncle."

Li Wei shrugged with a hint of helplessness; he hadn't expected to receive such a comment.

"You look really tired," he said, glancing at Michael's bags under his eyes. "Are you doing multiple jobs these days?"

"Yes, I'm working two jobs every day now," Michael changed the subject, sounding much more optimistic. "But if I can pass the AP exams this year and get the credits, I'll save a lot of money on college tuition. Then I can take my brother away from that gang."

Li Wei wanted to remind him of the warning Don Quixote had given him the night before, but after thinking about it, he ultimately said nothing and simply patted him on the shoulder.

"Good luck," he said. "If you need AP exam materials, you can contact me; I don't need them anymore."

"Really?" Michael said excitedly. "Thanks."

At lunchtime, Travis was eating his fried chicken as usual, while Craig's plate was full of chicken breast and broccoli. No wonder he and Manu are the only two people who have a chance to become pro players.

However, judging from his expression, eating chicken breast and broccoli was not his intention, because sitting next to him was a girl who Levi thought was somewhat ugly, but who might be considered beautiful by black people—this should be Jasmine, who had previously tried to force Craig to leave the football team.

"Hey, Levi," Craig said somewhat awkwardly as he stood up to introduce Levi, "This is my girlfriend, Jasmine. Jasmine, and this is Levi."

Li Wei pretended to be completely unaware and shook hands with Jasmine, then sat down opposite them.

"By the way, Bro," Craig said, "I heard from Coach Miller that you accepted the invitation to the All-Star Bowl. Congratulations on your journey to the national stage."

"Oh, and I also need to thank you on Craig's behalf," Jasmine quickly added. "You led the team to the PSAL championship and also introduced the scout to Craig..."

""

"It's nothing," Li Wei shook his head. "Craig is my friend. The fact that he was noticed by scouts is more about his own talent."

Craig wanted to say something more, but Jasmine gently took his hand.

"Keep eating, darling," she said, her tone indulgent and tender. "Look at Levi, he's already broken several records and secured his future NFL ticket. You still need to keep working hard for our future."

"I understand, Jasmine," Craig said helplessly, "but I really don't want to eat this."

"Shh," Jasmine covered his mouth, "Don't think you can rest easy just because you're in the NCAA now. Tell me, who wants the Heisman Trophy?"

"Me!" Craig blurted out instinctively, "I want to win the Heisman Trophy."

"Good boy," Jasmine patted Craig's face like she was training a dog, "when you get the Heisman Trophy, I... will reward you."

Li Wei ate in silence, without responding.

The Heisman Trophy is an award given to the best quarterback in college when a high school student enters the NCAA through the normal channels. It is the highest honor a quarterback can receive during their college years.

He didn't think Craig's talent was up to that level.

"Alright, you guys can continue eating," Jasmine glanced at her watch, got up and left. "I'm going to have dinner with some agents to ask them how to maximize the profits from your image rights agreement."

She quickly kissed Craig on the cheek, then waved to Levi (ignoring Travis) and left the dining hall.

After Jasmine left, Craig spent a long time trying to convince himself to eat the chicken breast in front of him, but in the end, his muscles took over his brain and he forced himself to stuff the protein into his mouth.

"Hey Levi," a fragrant breeze suddenly wafted from behind Levi, "we're having a sorority party this weekend, do you have time to come?"

"Thanks, ladies," Li Wei declined, "I'll probably be very busy for the next two weeks, and I'm afraid I won't have time."

The cheerleaders left somewhat reluctantly.

Li Wei noticed that Craig's gaze towards the cheerleaders had changed; his eyes were practically green with lust, like a ravenous wolf that had been celibate for 150 years.

"Hey, snap out of it," Li Wei snapped his fingers in front of him, "What's wrong with you? You're looking at other girls as soon as your girlfriend leaves."

"Girlfriend..." Craig chewed the chicken breast in his mouth with resentment. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have this girlfriend."

"Isn't Jasmine pretty good to you?" Li Wei said with a smile. "She's also very concerned about your future and career, unlike this idiot next to her—"

'

He pointed to Travis, who was devouring fried chicken next to him, and said, "He's got inflammation all over his body from eating so much. He's on injections all the time and might just die one day."

"Whatever," Travis said smugly, picking up a chicken leg and dipping it in mashed potatoes. "I just wanted to get into college through football anyway. By the way—I'm planning to major in physical education, and I want to be a coach in the future."

Li Wei almost burst out laughing. He seriously doubted whether Travis, who didn't even know what the unknown was, could teach his students well.

"Don't forget that you and Craig both have minimum grade requirements, a GPA of 2.5/4," he reminded them. "Craig's grades have always been good, but we're actually a little worried about you and me."

"I'll find a way to let him copy my homework," Craig said in a muffled voice, "and help him pass a few exams."

"That's fine then..." Levi didn't care about that. "By the way, Craig, are you very unhappy with your girlfriend?"

"It's not that I'm dissatisfied," Craig said, genuinely wanting to say something, "but man, you don't know, Jasmine, she...she..."

He hesitated for a moment before whispering the truth to Li Wei.

"What?" Li Wei asked in shock, "She stops after arousing you every time? She's playing games with you, isn't she?"

"Yes," Craig scratched his head, somewhat annoyed. "According to her, this method can keep me at my peak energy and full of desire, which will help improve my grades. As a result, my grades did improve, but I'm bursting with pent-up energy every day."

"Then why don't you just wrestle it?" Li Wei asked. "Solve it yourself."

Looking at Craig's dejected expression, Levi knew how this kid usually lived his life. It was pure repression. And he was a black man, a high school quarterback.

"Why don't you break up with her?" Travis suggested. "Once you get to college, you won't have trouble finding a woman."

“No,” Craig shook his head. “Jasmine and I live in the same neighborhood. We grew up together. I can’t abandon her.”

"So when will you be able to..." Levi asked. "We can't really wait until you win the Heisman Cup, can we? We all know that's very difficult."

"She said it would be okay once I made it into the NFL," Craig said, covering his face. "That means I have to endure it for several more years."

"Keep it up..." Li Wei sighed. "You guys eat first, I need to change my clothes to prepare for the afternoon's interview."

Li Wei truly didn't know what to say. Even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes, so he could only sigh, get up, and leave.

By 2 p.m., the Franklin High School gymnasium had been completely transformed. The NBC broadcast team had set up a huge green screen.

Li Wei stood in the center of the spotlight, cooperating with the staff to undergo a 3D body scan. This data would be sent to a partner equipment company to tailor a set of equipment to suit him.

"Open your arms, yes, keep this position."

The red light emitted by the scanner swept across the contours of Li Wei's bulging muscles.

"Mr. Li, regarding your refusal of all NIL endorsements and keeping the image rights to yourself, there's a rumor circulating online," an Asian female reporter seized a break in filming and eagerly handed over the microphone, "They say you're using your minority identity and being the only Asian five-star player in history to promote yourself, and that you're just waiting for a good offer. What's your opinion on this?"

"First of all, I did not use my minority identity to promote myself," Levi said. "Secondly, I think it is too early to sell my image rights, after all, the All-Star Bowl has not even started yet."

"So you're very confident you can achieve good results at the All-Star Bowl?" the reporter continued. "There are online comments saying that Asians are inherently inferior to Black and White people in terms of athletic ability, and that your achievements are all due to cheating. What's your response to that?"

"As for whether I cheated or not," Li Wei said, "we'll find out during the competition."

Over the next two weeks, Li Wei experienced firsthand what "the price of fame" truly meant.

His life was completely broken down into countless squares, precise down to the hour: